Key case



June 8, 1926;

W. R. BUXTON I KEY CASE Filed Sept-. 6. 192s ATTORNEYS Patented June 8, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT oF- IcE.

WARNER n. BUXTON, or LONGMEADOW', massaonnsn'r'rs, Assrenon TO nux'ron I mconrormrnn, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A conronamron OEMASSA- r CHUSETTS.

KEY cAsE.

Application'filed September 6, 1923. Serial No. 661,296. v

prior U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,443,937

granted January 30, 1923. In this patent,

there is disclosed a member provided with a pocket to receive articles such as identificw.

tion tags, automobile license and registra tion papers and so forth, which member is pivotally connected to the case so that access may be had to the pocket-on the rear side of the member. Such member may also have a bracing or stiffening-function, the advantages of which are fully disclosed in said prior patent. The key case of specially constructed for its special purpose,

and diflers considerably from the standard key case. The key holder plate is not attached to the back of the case, as is usual,

but is attached to the swinging and pocketforming member. Also, such member I is pivotally connected to the back of the case]:

by stitching and the weight of thekeys comes directly on the stitched seam,.whicl1.

may in time weaken and shorten-the useful life of the case.

s This invention has forits object the'prop .the case. The flaps lln may be detachably securedtogether by any suitable means,fsuchas the male and female fasteners 13. and .14,

vision of means which can be quickly and conveniently attached toa standard key case 7.

to convert it into one of the so-called auto license type or into one having an identifiy,

cation tagor the like.

The invention has for another objectto provide a carrier which is detachably con-.

nected to the case, preferably to the key holder plate thereof, for swingingmove .ment and such carrler may be utilized for described or, any other the purposes above purpose desired. y

The invention has for another object to provide a. carrier, in the nature "of a wire loop, having trunnions or the like, to litinto the open ends of thehollow cylindrical member, usually provided in a key case for the purpose of supporting the key holders, I

tion, the stiffening function, alluded to in such patent, however, is

the aboveidentifie'd prior patent, may also be accomplished by the, structure disclosed herein.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following description and in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings, in which I Fig. 1 isa frontelevationalview of an open key case showing one embodiment of the invention; F1g.'21s a sectional elevational v ew of the key cases'hown inFig. 1; 1

.Fig. 3 is a view, taken similarly to l ig. '1, showing another embodiment of the in vention;

F 1g, lv 1s a Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary eleva tional view, partly in section, showing a modification lnthe carrier shown 111 Fig. 1. gReferrlng to these drawmgs; the case itself-is desirably constructed in the same general manner as d sclosed in my prior pat-- cut, above identified, and, as illustrated, consists of a strip 10,the end portions 11 of which constitute flaps adapted to be folded in overlapping relation over the central i portion 12, whichv constitutes the back get respectively.

sectional elevational view of" the key case shown 1n F g. 3; and fragmenlit The key holders, represented convention ally at 15, may be of any desiredtype and they may be mounted in the ease inany suitable way. As shown, the key holder's 15, which are snap hooks, are mounted in "a hollow -'cylindrica l nember 16 for both swinging and swivell ng movement This A member 16, which. is open at each end, is preferably part o'fa'metal plate 17 which is rigidly secured to ;the.back 12, as by rivets 18 i The carrier, represented generally at, C,.is usually in the nature of a'cross-barBO, having upwardly extending side portions 21 According to some featuresof' the mvenwhichterminate with inturned portions 22 adapted to be received in the open ends of the hollow transversely dis-posed member 16 and in such a manner as to permit the carrier C to swing relatively thereto. The carrier, according to some features of the iiivention, may be utilized to carry anything desired. The carrier may also vary considerably accerding to the'purpose for which it is used and may be relatively long, as shownin Fig. 1, or relatively short, as shown in Fig. 2. Various expedie'n'ts may also be em ployed for pivotally connecting the carrier to the case, and the particular expedient eni'ployed will vary according to the nature of the carrier. With one, such as shown in Fig. 1, the carrier may be formed of relatively small wire possessing suiiicient resilieneyso that the sides 21 may be sprung outwardly away from one another to a sufficient degree to permit insertion or removal of the trun'nions 22 in member 16.

However, with a carrier, such as that shown in Fig. 3, the arrangement just described is manifestly not feasible and, in this case, a slot 23 is provided ineach end of member 16. These slots arepreferably located in the upper portion of member 16, and extend axially thereof from points near its ends to such ends. The trunnions are then inserted or removed by passingthem through the slots 23. In this connection, I

' prefer to make the sides 21 of the carrier so short that the cross-bar 20 thereof will abut the lower'peripher'al portion of member 16 and prevent the tr'unnion's 22 from passing through the slots whenthe parts are positioned as shown in Fig. 3. Moreover,.the trunnions' 22 need'not be exactly cylindrical and in fact may be flattened somewhat as shown in ekaggerated form in Fi s. 5 and 6. In such case, each slot 23 mi be made comparable in width with the narrow side 24 of the trunnion and so that the wider side 25 of the trunnion cannot pass theret hrough. The wider sides 25 of the tri'innions are preferably located at'the top and bottom thereof, whereby the carrier cannot be dislodged, while in the illustrated position or any other position in which it is normally at rest. The arrangement is such that the carrier can be detached at an intermediate point in its range of swinging movement, at which time the narrow sides 24 are so positioned as to pass through slots 23.

The arrangement just described can be used, if desired, in connection with the carrier shown in Fig. 1 and may be desirable when the carrier is made of heavier material and incapable of being-mounted and dismounted in the manner first above described.

Such .an arrangement is shown in Fig. '7 and the sides 21 of the carrier may be bent to fi ti tag 28 and a window 29 through which such tag is visible. This case 27 is not coextens ve in area with back 12 but it may be, and preferably 1s, coextensive in width therewith to obtain the bracing and stiffening function disclosed in the above named patent. The location of thecase 27, at or near the lower part of the back 12, aiiiords less restriction to the keys and permits the back to bulge outwardly at or near its central portion to accommodate the bulk iest portion ofthe keys, which comes at that locationon back 12 unoccupied by'the case 27.

The carrier, on the other hand,- may have a relatively long flexible member 30 on the rear face of which is attached, near its lower end, a shorter piece 81 of similar material, which is preferably attached to member 30 along three edges, as by stitchings 82,'thereby forming a pocket open at its upper end. The arrangement is then generally similar to that disclosed in my prior patent with the exception that it is detachable from the case. An eyelet. 33 may be passed through the members 30 and 31, near their lower ends, to receive a retaining chain. With this an rangement, it is preferred to offset the cylindrical portion16 as shown in Fig. 4: so that the key holders 15 may hang vertically as shown.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides a means, whereby a standard key case may be converted into one of the auto license type or one having an identification tag or one having a carrier used for other purposes. The manufacturer can take a standard key case and apply to it a carrier like that shown in Fig. 1', or like that shown in Fig. 2, or of some other type, and without much trouble satisfy the wishes of the customers which are many and various. Each user of'a key case usually has some individual whim that he wants to satisfy and this invention enables the manufacturer to go part way, at least, in satisfying the individual wishes without manufacturing a large and varied assortment of special cases. I

T-he invention has been disclosed herein, in an embodiment at present preferred, for illustrative purposes, but the :scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

Claims:

1.'In a'key case, a flexible case forming member having a back portion and flap portions cooperating therewith to afford an en'- closure forthe keys, arigid member secured to said" back across the'upper end thereof, a member of flexible material pivotally connected to the second named member and having a part disposed across the back near its lower end and provided with a pocket.

2. Ina key case, a flexible case forming member having a back portion and flap portions cooperating therewith to aiford an enclosure for the keys, a rigid member secured to said back' across the upper end thereof, a member of flexible material pivotally and detachably connected to the second named member and having a part disposed across the back near its lower end and provided with a pocket.

3. In a key case, a flexible case forming member having a back portion and flap portions cooperating therewith to afford an enclosure for the keys, a rigid member secured to said back across the upper end thereof, a member of flexible material pivotally and detachably connected to the second named member and having a part disposed across the back near its lower end and provided with a pocket, the sides of said part adapted to lie substantially coincident withthe lines of fold of said flaps.

4. In a key case, a flexible case forming.

member having a back portion and flap portions cooperating therewith to afford an enclosure for the keys, a rigid member secured to said back across the upper'end thereof, a member provided with a pocket, and a carrier therefor pivotally connected to said second named member.

5. In akey case, a case forming member having a back portion and flap portions cor operating therewith'to afford an enclosure for the keys, a rigid member secured to said back across the upper end thereof, a third member, a cross bar on which the last named member 1s mounted, said cross-bar having its end portions turned upwardly, and means key holders are supported from a hollow transversely disposed member open at each end, a carrier having trunnions detaehably connected to said member and pivotallyreceived in the open ends thereof.

8. In a key case, of the type wherein the key holders are supported from a hollow transversely disposed member open at each end, a carrier formed of wirehaving a substantially transversely disposed carrying portion with upwardly extending side portions terminating with tr'unnions for detachable and pivotal connection with the open ends of said member.

9. In a key case, of the type wherein the key holders are supported from a hollow cylindrical member open at each end, a slot provided in the peripheral portion of said member at each end and disposed longitudinally thereof, and a carrier having trunnions adapted when in one position to pass through said slots and enter into said hollow memher to pivotally connect the carrier therewith, said trunnions when the carrier is turned to other positions being incapable of passing through said slots.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature.

WVARNER R. BUXTONK 

